​CHEDER AND FAMILIES

Thanks to everyone who helped make our annual Family Chanukah Party such a success especially to Paul and Evelyn Grabinar for their sponsorship.   Here is a video clip in case you couldn’t make it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxw1B7rsN8&feature=em-uploademail.
And some pictures https://www.facebook.com/BerkshireJewish/posts/812670755526354
 
The Berkshire Community Cheder is growing!  We are very excited to now host a new class for children aged between 3 and 6 years old.  This is the perfect moment to enrol your younger child so that they don’t miss out.  Let us help your child to get the most of his/her Jewish identity.  Email shira@JCoB.org. 
 
Children!  Don’t miss our annual Frogs Shabbat.  Shabbat morning service with a special children’s service focused on Pharoah and the Ten Plagues, and a storytime sermon.  Service starts 9:30am on Saturday 9th January with a children’s service at 10:30.  As usual, lunch is available for a £5 donation (or free for students).
 
SOCIAL

The Berkshire Women’s Rosh Chodesh group will be meeting again at 8pm on 10 January.  We will do some chavruta-style study about Judaism and Trees/environment in honor of Tu Bishvat.   For more information, please contact Rebbetzin Shira.
 
Celebrate Tu Bishevat by attending a Tu Bishevat Seder at JCoB.  Sunday evening 24 January at 5:30pm.  (Come at 5pm to help prepare the 15 species of fruit.)   Seder will include bread and soup for supper.  Donation £10.  (No charge for students and children.)
 
SHABBAT EVENTS
 
Children!  Don’t miss our annual Frogs Shabbat.  Shabbat morning service with a special children’s service focused on Pharoah and the Ten Plagues, and a storytime sermon.  Service starts 9:30am on Saturday 9th January with a children’s service at 10:30.  As usual, lunch is available for a £5 donation (or free for students).
 
JCoB invites you to a special Shabbat afternoon of songs, stories (and a little bit of food) on Saturday 16 January.  Minchah 3:30pm followed by Seudah Shlishit and havdallah (at around 5:00pm).  Bring your own song or story to share or just come, listen, and enjoy.  If you would like to sponsor this or a similar event, please contact Rebbetzin Shira.
 
Students!  Enjoy the warmth and good food of a Shabbat evening at JCoB Central.  Our next Oneg Shabbat will be a joint event with Reading JSoC.   Friday evening 22 January at JCoB Central.  Come early to light candles at 4:19pm or arrive later for Kaballat Shabbat at 6:00pm followed by dinner. RSVP  www.jcob.org/friday-night.html.  As with all JCoB meals, students eat for free!
 
Thanks to a generous donation, there is currently no charge for children, students or low income adults attending meals at JCoB Central.  

For working adults, standard donations are: Dinners £15  Fancy lunches £10.  Light lunches £5.
We welcome your sponsorship so that we can continue to offer hospitality.

KOSHER FOOD NEWS

JustKosher.com will deliver to Reading on Sundays 3 and 17 January.  Contact Rebbetzin Shira if you require any items. 

JCoB Cheder had a wonderful party. Huge quantities of latkes and doughnuts were consumed, large volumes of lemonade and cream soda were quaffed, and the children loved making candles sand art and chanukiot. Many thanks to Rebbetzin Shira for exceptional planning so that it went so well in our home. The video was taken at our communal lighting – we have fun together.

Thanks to all who suppored our 7th annual Interfaith ‪chanukah Candle lighting at the Civic Offices Bridge Street

This week we read the start of the story of Yoseph which occupies the Torah until the end of the Book of Genesis.
 
One very strong lesson we learn this week is the difference between action and contemplation – between dreams and doing.
 
Yoseph dreams. He does his father’s bidding but he sees things in his dreams which disturb him. However he does not have the wit to keep these vivid dreams to himself but lets them out to all and sundry. He is caught up in them to the extent that merely by telling his brothers about them he causes their hatred, and ends up sold to the Midianites who take him to Egypt in slavery.
 
By contrast we are introduced to Yehuda, who is all action. The episode of his relations with Tamar (his daughter-in-law) show him to be highly impulsive and human. Yet at the same time he is capable of taking serious decisions. When confronted by his own iniquity he is able to say tzadkah mimeni (she is more righteous than me) and to spare her. When challenged to take action now that he and the brothers have thrown Yoseph in a well and taken his coat from him, he decides that they should sell him to the Midianites, and he does this whilst his brother is out of the way.
 
In between these two lies Reuven. By birth he is the Firstborn and should be the leader. Yet he cuts a rather sad figure. He is typical of those who dream but cannot see how to put their dreams into action – his intellect does not stretch to doing past a vague feeling that it will “be all right on the night”. This is never good enough. The Reuvens of this world end up at everyone else’s mercy. Not for them the glory of leadership and success. Their discarded dreams lie as a testament to their personal inability to carry anything through to a conclusion.
 
Yosef sees that he lies in between these two extremes of action and wishful thinking. As his prospects appear to be worsening – he being sold into slavery – he opens his eyes and sees how his brother Reuven has failed. He sees opportunity wherever it is presented: as a slave to Potiphar, in the dungeon, as Pharaoh’s dream wizard. He takes his dreams and makes them real.
 
May we all be blessed with that ability to turn blue-sky into concrete action and results.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
 
Rabbi Zvi
 
Rabbi Zvi’s two minute Torah for Chayei Sarah is available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56maDQHObh8
 
Rabbi Zvi’s two minute Torah for Vayera is available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqjKHbWR49w
 
Last week’s article by Jeremy Rosen on Women in Orthodox Judaism is available from
http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/women-in-orthodox-judaism.html
Jeremy Rosen’s article on Poor Paris is on  http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/poor-paris.html
Jeremy Rosen’s article Not in My Name is on http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/not-in-my-name.html
Jeremy Rosen’s article on Vegetarianism is on http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/is-vegetarian-food-vegetarian.html

​The Berkshire Community Cheder is growing!  We are very excited to now host a new class for children aged between 3 and 6 years old.  This is the perfect moment to enrol your younger child so that they don’t miss out.  Let us help your child to get the most of his/her Jewish identity.  http://www.jcob.org/cheder.html
 
JCoB invites you to a special Shabbat afternoon of songs, stories (and a little bit of food) on Saturday 5 December.  Minchah 3:00pm followed by Seudah Shlishit andhavdallah (at around 5:00pm).  Bring your own song or story to share or just come, listen, and enjoy.  If you would like to sponsor this or a similar event, pleasecontact Rebbetzin Shira. 
 
Rabbi Zvi invites you to join our friends at the sixth annual Interfaith Chanukah Candle Lighting.   Mayor’s parlour (New Civic Offices at Bridge Street) at 7pm on Monday 7th December.  (Apologies for the schedule clash with Ashley Blaker as this was the only slot available.)
 
Reading Jewish Society and JCoB invites students to a Salt beef mulled wine and latkes evening at the Rabbi’s house.  Saturday 12 December from 7:00pm.  RSVP toRebbetzin Shira. 
 
Don’t miss the 8th annual Berkshire Family Chanukah Party.  Sunday 13 December, 3:30pm – 6:30pm.  Chanukah crafts followed by food, dreidel spinning, and other fun.  Note: venue is JCoB Central this year.  Suggested donation £5 / person.   (This event is heavily subsidised.)  Please let Rebbetzin Shira know if you wish to attend or can volunteer.  http://www.jcob.org/chanukah-party-13-december.html
 
Enjoy the warmth and good food of a Shabbat evening at JCoB Central.  Our next Oneg Shabbat will be on Friday evening 18 December at JCoB Central.  Come early to light candles at 3:41pm or arrive later for Kaballat Shabbat at 6:00pm followed by dinner.  RSVP Rebbetzin Shira.  As with all JCoB meals, students eat for free!
 
Our next Saturday morning service will be on 19th December.  Kiddush sponsored by Paul and Evelyn Grabinar for Paul’s bar mitzvah anniversary.  As usual, lunch is available for a £5 donation (or free for students).
 
Ashley Blaker, the UK’s only charedi stand-up comedian, is coming to Reading.  Monday 7 December, 7:30pm at Reading Hebrew Congregation (Goldsmid Rd).  For tickets and more information, go to https://billetto.co.uk/en/events/ashley-blaker-reading. 
 
The Berkshire Women’s Rosh Chodesh group will be meeting again at 8pm on 14 December.  Maddy G will share the movie The Green Man about the son of the Hamas Leader.   For more information, please contact Rebbetzin Shira. 
 
Thanks to a generous donation, there is currently no charge for children, students or low income adults attending meals at JCoB Central.  

For working adults, standard donations are: Dinners £15  Fancy lunches £10.  Light lunches £5.
We welcome your sponsorship so that we can continue to offer hospitality.

 KOSHER FOOD NEWS

JustKosher.com will deliver to Reading on Sundays 6 and 20 December. Let Rebbetzin Shira know if you require any items or for inquiries about the Rebbetzin’s doughnuts.  Chanukah supplies (candles, menorahs, latkes, doughnuts) are available from JustKosher this week.